Captured
The two spiritual bodies frowned as runes began to flicker around them.
Boom!
Lightning flashed all over the Thunder Emperor's spiritual body. Like a thunder god descending from the heavens, he sent powerful bolts shooting in all directions, dispersing the surrounding fog.
Hiss!
Under the impact of the lightning, a great stretch of fog scattered.
But the moment the lightning faded, thick fog came surging in again.
"There's something very strange here. Wake the main body immediately." The two spiritual bodies' expressions changed drastically.
The instant Lei Chong woke, he understood everything. Runes flickered in his eyes as he began to peer through the fog around him.
Sure enough, deep beneath the sea, he saw countless formation patterns.
Only after these formation patterns took shape did the fog appear over the sea.
After observing carefully, Lei Chong discovered that the fog was only the outer formation. A single wrong turn would inevitably lead into the killing formation at its center.
He immediately looked back and found that the route behind him had been cut off.
Even retreating along the original route would still lead him into the central formation.
Lei Chong immediately stopped the ship and examined the area carefully with his Heavenly Eye. Sure enough, he found a correct path through the vast fog.
"Luckily, I mastered the Heavenly Eye beforehand. Otherwise, I would surely have fallen into the formation, and getting out would have been harder than scaling the heavens," Lei Chong muttered.
As he spoke, Lei Chong turned the ship around and raced along the path to safety he had found.
The two spiritual bodies turned into streaks of light and vanished into his body.
Hum!
The ship sped through the fog like a bolt of lightning.
In the deep sea beneath the fog, countless Flame Fish waited in battle formation.
A middle-aged man stood in front of these Flame Fish.
The man wore a crimson battle robe. His eyebrows and hair were both red, and his cheeks were covered in red scales, giving him a somewhat fearsome appearance.
He held a blood-red battle spear, and a sinister look showed on his face.
He was staring at the surface overhead, waiting for the ship to enter the formation.
But time passed swiftly, and still the ship did not arrive.
Just then, a Flame Fish swam swiftly over.
"Reporting to Elder Han Ming: the ship has changed course and is sailing in another direction," the Flame Fish reported to the middle-aged man.
Han Ming's expression remained as undisturbed as an ancient well; evidently, this was all part of his plan.
"Don't worry. This is a divine formation left behind by our ancestors. How could he possibly escape it? Keep watching him," Han Ming said with a cold laugh.
The Flame Fish acknowledged the order, then quickly turned and left.
As time passed, the composure vanished from Han Ming's face.
By his reckoning, no matter what Lei Chong did, he should have entered the killing formation by now. Why was there still no sign of him?
Could he have seen through the formation and found a safe path?
But before he could think any further, another Flame Fish came to report.
"Elder Han Ming, the ship has sailed out of the fog and is getting farther and farther from our killing formation," the Flame Fish reported anxiously.
Boom!
Han Ming's face instantly turned ashen. Flames surged around him, and terrifying fluctuations spread out, making the nearby seawater churn.
"Activate the second plan immediately," Han Ming ordered coldly.
"Yes." The surrounding Flame Fish jolted, then quickly scattered.
On the vast, magnificent sea, the ship had long since sailed out of the fog.
Once the ship left the foggy area, not a wisp of fog could be seen over the sea, as though the fog before had been an illusion.
After leaving the fog, Lei Chong continued to scout with his Heavenly Eye.
Sure enough, he saw many Flame Fish in the water below.
Lei Chong pondered for a moment, and everything became clear as a mirror in his mind. These people had prepared for days and would not let him leave easily.
They surely had another move prepared, and it would be even more dangerous.
Boom!
Lei Chong raised his hand. Thunder runes flickered in his palm, forming a gigantic suanni that roared above the North Sea.
Crack!
The suanni surged with power, and countless bolts of lightning rained down.
Golden lightning struck the sea, hitting the Flame Fish in the water.
Hiss!
These Flame Fish were very weak. The instant the lightning touched them, they were charred to a crisp, without even a chance to resist.
As Lei Chong unleashed the lightning, another spiritual body rushed out of him.
He turned into a bolt of lightning and hid among the lightning filling the sky. He vanished completely into the clouds high above and quietly watched the sea below.
The spiritual body, meanwhile, piloted the ship across the vast North Sea.
Suddenly, an enormous whirlpool appeared and swept the ship into it.
Then a huge scarlet fish appeared. It was like a mountain ridge, and it opened a gaping maw like an abyss and swallowed the giant ship whole.
Boom!
A tremendous sound rang out, as though an explosion had occurred inside the fish.
The fish's body turned transparent, revealing what was happening inside. An explosion had gone off within it, blasting the giant ship to pieces.
The spiritual body, however, had not been destroyed and was still resisting the blast.
The powerful explosion soon ended, and then all kinds of divine chains appeared.
They were all made of runes and wound toward the spiritual body from every direction.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The spiritual body wielded an iron whip. Every swing produced a great deal of runic lightning, shattering the runic divine chains.
Bang!
Explosions rang out one after another, and the fish seemed about to split apart.
Just as the spiritual body was about to burst out of the fish, the situation suddenly changed.
A middle-aged man burst out of the sea and began controlling the fish.
This middle-aged man was none other than Han Ming, an elder of the Flame Fish Clan.
With an outside force controlling it, the fish's runes began to change. The divine chains, which had been somewhat disorderly, instantly fell into perfect order.
Divine chains plunged down from above, all winding toward the spiritual body.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
The spiritual body resisted with all his might, but there were simply too many divine chains. Several pierced his defenses and ran straight through his body.
After the divine chains pierced Lei Chong's spiritual body, he did not die immediately.
Presumably, Han Ming was deliberately holding back, confident he could act at any time.
"Hmph, I didn't expect you to be so cunning, escaping my clan's formation and making me waste a secret artifact for nothing. Once I find the Divine Illumination Lamp, I'll pull out your divine soul, refine it into lamp oil, and use it every day," Han Ming said with an icy expression.
Hearing Han Ming's words, Lei Chong immediately understood.
This powerful weapon was a consumable; it would be destroyed after one use.
Not knowing whether these people had any other powerful weapons, Lei Chong did not dare act rashly. He could only hide in the clouds and watch for now.
"How generous. You spent a divine artifact to capture me. You must think highly of me, or does your clan have so many artifacts that losing one doesn't matter?" the spiritual body said with a faint smile.
"Hmph, even now, you're trying to take the opportunity to probe my secrets?" Han Ming said coldly.
As he spoke, he began activating the artifact in his hand.
Pfft!
Countless divine chains radiated divine light and instantly tore the spiritual body to shreds.
At the same time, the divine chains formed a cage, intending to capture Lei Chong's soul.
But that was only a spiritual body, and there was no soul inside it.
Seeing that the artifact had failed to capture a soul, Han Ming's expression changed drastically. "Damn it, I've been tricked! That's only the brat's spiritual body."
After watching from above for a long time, Lei Chong finally confirmed that the elder's true strength was merely that of someone who had just entered the Venerable Realm.